Sticky Notes
by PunkPinkPower
Summary: Wes leaves the rangers of the future mysterious sticky notes that Katie imagines mean something in this time, but are nearly incomprehensible to them.


Notes: I would be lying if I said this wasn't in part inspired by the episode of "Sleepy Hollow" where Abbie leaves notes for Ichibod. Written for PockySquirrel for Power Ranger Day 2013.

The first time they can't figure something out, they call him on his communicator. Wes tumbles out of bed, his heart racing. He's trying to find some pants as he answers the com only, without the hologram.

"Wes? It's Katie. There's no emergency," she says, and Wes deflates.

"What's going on?" he asks, sitting back in bed and wondering how he'll ever get back asleep.

"We're trying to go to sleep, but the computer here doesn't seem to respond to any of our commands. What do you tell computers in your time to turn out the lights?" Katie says.

Wes is quiet a moment, trying to follow. As it hits him, he cracks a smile, imagining his new team sitting in the clock tower and yelling things at the ceiling thinking that a computer controlled the lights.

"Wes?" Katie asks again.

"Yeah, sorry," Wes says, chuckling, "I should have said. There isn't a computer controlling the lights, Katie. There's a switch, over on the wall near the door. You flip it, and the lights go out."

There are sounds of movement over the com, and then a small click.

He hears Trip's voice say, "Fascinating."

"Oh," Katie says, and she sounds sheepish, "Sorry Wes."

"It's alright," Wes says, "Night," and the communicator clicks off.

Wed spends most of the rest of the night planning out how he's going to future-proof the clock tower.

* * *

"What are those?" Lucas asks, as Wes sits and scrawls out instructions on his package of post-it's.

"Sticky notes," he tells him, not stopping, "To help you guys adjust to life in the 20th century."

Jen crosses her arms across the room. "We know there isn't a computer now," she says, looking insulted, "We aren't stupid. We'll figure the rest out."

Wes looks over at her. "Oh, okay. So, if you're so smart, what does that machine right next to you do?"

Jen looks to her left at the coffee pot. She stares at it a moment before defiantly raising her head. "It's a beverage purifier."

Wes cracks a smile. "Actually, it's a coffee pot. I'll just finish these up and explain the basics, but you, oh knowledgeable one, are welcome to ignore them."

Jen mumbles something and walks away, annoyed, but Wes just snickers as Lucas reads over his shoulder.

* * *

"What do you think it means?" Trip is saying, and Katie looks over at them.

Trip and Lucas are holding something in their hands, staring at it. Katie walks over to see what it is.

"What's wrong?" She asks, looking at the rectangular little box with buttons in Lucas's hand.

"We didn't ask what this one meant," Trip says, indicating it, "And we're not sure if it's dangerous."

Katie takes the little thing from Lucas. The sticky note reads "TV Controller". "What's a TV?"

Lucas and Trip shrug.

Katie frowns. She doesn't want to call Wes again for this, and if it was dangerous, like the coffee pot, we could have put an extra warning on it (the coffee pot has an extra 'Hot!' underneath the sticky note for the on/off switch).

So Katie presses the button.

Loud noise fills the clock tower, and they all cover their ears.

"Oh, turn it off!" Trip yells.

Katie fumbles with the control, and finds another switch that reads "Volume". Once she has it turned down, Lucas walks over to the little box that is now moving.

"Oh," Trip says, tapping the screen, "This must be a primitive holo-movie viewing."

Lucas makes a face. "Then why didn't he say that?"

They all shrug.

* * *

"That was a long day," Jen says, taking off her jacket as they walk back into the clock tower. "I feel awful. I think I'll go take a sonic shower."

Lucas and Trip nod, and Katie calls, "I got the next one!" after her.

Katie and boys are debating what to eat when they hear Jen scream. They rush to the bathroom only to see Jen coming out sopping wet.

"What happened?" Katie asks, and Trip goes to find a towel.

"I turned the handle that Wes said would turn it on," Jen says, taking the towel from Trip, "And a bunch of water shot out at me!"

"Are you sure you did it right?" Lucas asks, and Jen scowls.

"I'm sure Wes is just playing a stupid practical joke! He probably labeled it wrong to get me!" Jen storms off, already pulling up her communicator, and Katie doesn't envy Wes right now.

Instead of listening, she goes into the bathroom and inspects the notes. In the shower, which is very wet, there are two, and they read "Hot" and "Cold". Katie gently turns them both, and is surprised when water comes out of the spout above both times.

Then she looks closer at the shower itself, and it doesn't seem to have any sonic scrubbers installed.

Katie thinks she's getting the hang of this primitive technology now, and she goes out to try and explain it to Jen.

Jen is coming back from her talk with Wes, though, and she looks very embarrassed. "Apparently," she tells the team, "They don't have sonic showers in this century. They use water to get clean."

Lucas's nose scrunches up, and Trip tilts his head.

Jen takes a big breath and then lets it out slowly. "I am a Time Force officer," she says, like she's preparing herself, "I am the Pink Ranger. I can do this."

Jen heads defiantly back into the shower.

* * *

"Okay," Wes says, gathering them around, "This is a washing machine! It washes your clothes. And this," he points to the second machine, "is a dryer! It dries them."

He continues to demonstrate to how to use each machine. Trip asks a lot of questions, and Lucas expresses his distaste at having to do so much work just to wash clothes.

"How do you do it in the future?" Wes wants to know.

Lucas scoffs. "We have molecular cleaning closets," Lucas tells him superiorly, "We don't have to wash our clothes. When we put them away the closet removes the dirt and odors from them."

Wes's eyebrows rise. "Wow," he says, grinning, "Well, down here in the boondocks, we do it like this."

Beside her, Lucas sighs. "I really miss the future."

* * *

"Doesn't it get boring?" Wes wonders one morning, after a long discussion about how to sort the recycling, and Katie tilts her head curiously. "Having a computer do everything for you."

Katie shakes her head. "No, not at all. It allows us to spend our time on more important things, like spending time with loved ones and bettering ourselves. Having simple things automated is what led to the peaceful and safe Earth that we're from."

"But it also led to the rise of mutants, right?" Wes asks. "I mean, it was the toxins produced probably by the companies making everything so technological that caused genetic mutations in people."

"I guess that's true," Katie says, considering, "Each part of Earth's history has both a dark and light side."

"And you know," Wes says thoughtfully, "I'm not sure about the whole 'spending time with loved ones' thing. When I was a kid, my parents were super busy. Some of my favorite memories with my mom are of us doing really simple, mundane things, like folding the laundry or making dinner. It was the time she spent with me, and we did it together."

Katie smiles. "I didn't think about it like that," she admits.

Wes just grins. "Don't worry, eventually, you'll get used to it here. You may not even want to leave!"

Katie laughs, punches Wes softly in the arm. He still cradles it like a baby, though.

"Oh! But I was wondering," she says, holding up a hand, "What does the one that says 'Soap Dispenser' do?"


End file.
